There are numerous instances in which individuals by virtue of physical conditions or for their own convenience are obliged to support substantial weight which is off the user's vertical body axis at his or her front side. One such common environment to which the present invention is applicable is the increasing use of baby carriers. The current designs for the carriers which are commercially available permit mothers and fathers to carry their babies on their chests while allowing their arms and hands to be free. Typically the baby is placed in a sack (which may be herein referred to as a “papoose”) intended to be secured at the front side of the parent. Straps are used to attach the papoose around the shoulders and back of the parent so as to secure the baby to the parent's chest. These designs often produce fatigue strains on the spine as the weight of the baby causes shear, moment, and compressive forces at the spine. This is particularly significant for persons who already suffer from back pain due to spinal conditions like scoliosis and/or degenerative joint disease of the discs, facets and vertebral bodies.
A further natural condition yielding similar harmful back effects occurs during especially the latter stages of pregnancy. The enlargement of the abdominal region creates an increasing off vertical body axis weight, the consequences of which are very similar to those involved in use of the baby carrier as aforementioned. Numerous designs of abdominal supports have been provided over the years in an effort to alleviate this problem by providing some type of support wearable by the pregnant woman to relieve these effects. In much of this prior art it is found that relief is only provided relative to the area of pain, usually the lumbar spine. This leaves the thoracic spine and shoulders vulnerable to shear and compression forces.
A third area to which the principles of the present invention are applicable arises in the instance of large breasted women. The need to support such large breasts generates harmful strain forces through the spine similar to the case of the baby in the papoose of the baby carrier. This again is in essence a strain caused by the presence of the substantial off vertical axis weight, and the consequences to the individual are similar as in the two prior instances discussed above.